1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a street sweeper, and more particularly, to dust control from two or more cleaning heads with one air source.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art dust control systems for road sweepers frequently include the use of water which wets the debris and dirt on the road surface to prevent dust from becoming airborne during the sweeping process. In such systems, water must be provided at various sweeper locations, such as, but not limited to, the main rotary broom and the gutter brooms. Water systems often just wet down debris and dirt whereby the wetted debris and dirt may still reside on the wetted roadway after sweeping rather than having been carried into the conveyor or hopper. The use of vacuum systems instead of water systems to carry off generated airborne dust is often desirable in that no wetted debris or dirt is presented to be left behind after sweeping. Vacuum systems generally use a separate dedicated fan to draw dust from the region of the main rotary broom and a separate dedicated fan to draw dust from the region of the gutter brooms. The use of separate and dedicated fans results in excessive space being occupied and adds expense to the fabrication processes. The use of separate and dedicated fans can also produce a flow problem where the vacuum produced by one fan may interfere or conflict with the vacuum of another fan when entering a common chamber or plenum.
Another problem encountered in dry dust control systems is that of clogging of a filter located prior to the fan. Filter clogging is detrimental to the removal of dust before discharging air from the fan to the atmosphere and can slow and hinder the vacuuming process significantly. Cleaning or exchanging a filter can be a laborious and time-consuming process resulting in poor overall efficiency.